Blessed are you, creator of all,
to you be praise and glory for ever.
As your dawn renews the face of the earth
bringing light and life to all creation,
may we rejoice in this day you have made;
as we wake refreshed from the depths of sleep,
open our eyes to behold your presence
and strengthen our hands to do your will,
that the world may rejoice and give you praise.
Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
AllBlessed be God for ever.

after Lancelot Andrewes (1626)

or a suitable hymn,

or A Song of God’s Blessing

This opening prayer may be said

The night has passed, and the day lies open before us;
let us pray with one heart and mind.

Silence is kept.

As we rejoice in the gift of this new day,
so may the light of your presence, O God,
set our hearts on fire with love for you;
now and for ever.
AllAmen.

The Word of God

Psalmody

The appointed psalmody is said.

Psalm 56

Refrain: In God I trust, and will not fear.

1 Have mercy on me, O God, for they trample over me; ♦
all day long they assault and oppress me.

2 My adversaries trample over me all the day long; ♦
many are they that make proud war against me.

3 In the day of my fear I put my trust in you, ♦
in God whose word I praise.

4 In God I trust, and will not fear, ♦
for what can flesh do to me? R

5 All day long they wound me with words; ♦
their every thought is to do me evil.

6 They stir up trouble; they lie in wait; ♦
marking my steps, they seek my life.

7 Shall they escape for all their wickedness? ♦
In anger, O God, cast the peoples down.

8 You have counted up my groaning;
put my tears into your bottle; ♦
are they not written in your book? R

9 Then shall my enemies turn back
on the day when I call upon you; ♦
this I know, for God is on my side.

10 In God whose word I praise,
in the Lord whose word I praise, ♦
in God I trust and will not fear:
what can flesh do to me?

11 To you, O God, will I fulfil my vows; ♦
to you will I present my offerings of thanks,

12 For you will deliver my soul from death
and my feet from falling, ♦
that I may walk before God in the light of the living.

Refrain: In God I trust, and will not fear.

Faithful God,
your deliverance is nearer than we know;
free us from fear
and help us to find courage in your Word,
Jesus Christ our Lord.

Psalm 57

1 Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, ♦
for my soul takes refuge in you;

2 In the shadow of your wings will I take refuge ♦
until the storm of destruction has passed by.

3 I will call upon the Most High God, ♦
the God who fulfils his purpose for me.

4 He will send from heaven and save me
and rebuke those that would trample upon me; ♦
God will send forth his love and his faithfulness.

5 I lie in the midst of lions, ♦
people whose teeth are spears and arrows,
and their tongue a sharp sword.

6 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens, ♦
and your glory over all the earth.

7 They have laid a net for my feet;
my soul is pressed down; ♦
they have dug a pit before me
and will fall into it themselves.

8 My heart is ready, O God, my heart is ready; ♦
I will sing and give you praise.

9 Awake, my soul; awake, harp and lyre, ♦
that I may awaken the dawn.

10 I will give you thanks, O Lord, among the peoples; ♦
I will sing praise to you among the nations.

11 For your loving-kindness is as high as the heavens, ♦
and your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.

12 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens, ♦
and your glory over all the earth.

Tender God,
gentle protector in time of trouble,
pierce the gloom of despair
and give us, with all your people,
the song of freedom and the shout of praise;
in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Psalm (63*)

Refrain: My soul is athirst for God, even for the living God.

1 O God, you are my God; eagerly I seek you; ♦
my soul is athirst for you.

2 My flesh also faints for you, ♦
as in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water.

3 So would I gaze upon you in your holy place, ♦
that I might behold your power and your glory.

4 Your loving-kindness is better than life itself ♦
and so my lips shall praise you.

5 I will bless you as long as I live ♦
and lift up my hands in your name. R

6 My soul shall be satisfied, as with marrow and fatness, ♦
and my mouth shall praise you with joyful lips,

7 When I remember you upon my bed ♦
and meditate on you in the watches of the night.

8 For you have been my helper ♦
and under the shadow of your wings will I rejoice.

9 My soul clings to you; ♦
your right hand shall hold me fast. R

10 But those who seek my soul to destroy it ♦
shall go down to the depths of the earth;

11 Let them fall by the edge of the sword ♦
and become a portion for jackals.

12 But the king shall rejoice in God;
all those who swear by him shall be glad, ♦
for the mouth of those who speak lies shall be stopped.

Refrain: My soul is athirst for God, even for the living God.

To you we come, radiant Lord,
the goal of all our desiring,
beyond all earthly beauty;
gentle protector, strong deliverer,
in the night you are our confidence;
from first light be our joy;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Each psalm or group of psalms may end with

AllGlory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and shall be for ever. Amen.

If there are two Scripture readings, the first may be read here, or both may be read after the canticle.

1 Samuel 21.1 - 22.5

David came to Nob to the priest Ahimelech. Ahimelech came trembling to meet David, and said to him, ‘Why are you alone, and no one with you?’ David said to the priest Ahimelech, ‘The king has charged me with a matter, and said to me, “No one must know anything of the matter about which I send you, and with which I have charged you.” I have made an appointment with the young men for such and such a place. Now then, what have you at hand? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever is here.’ The priest answered David, ‘I have no ordinary bread at hand, only holy bread—provided that the young men have kept themselves from women.’ David answered the priest, ‘Indeed, women have been kept from us as always when I go on an expedition; the vessels of the young men are holy even when it is a common journey; how much more today will their vessels be holy?’ So the priest gave him the holy bread; for there was no bread there except the bread of the Presence, which is removed from before the Lord to be replaced by hot bread on the day it is taken away.

Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the Lord; his name was Doeg the Edomite, the chief of Saul’s shepherds.

David said to Ahimelech, ‘Is there no spear or sword here with you? I did not bring my sword or my weapons with me, because the king’s business required haste.’ The priest said, ‘The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the valley of Elah, is here wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod; if you will take that, take it, for there is none here except that one.’ David said, ‘There is none like it; give it to me.’

David rose and fled that day from Saul; he went to King Achish of Gath. The servants of Achish said to him, ‘Is this not David the king of the land? Did they not sing to one another of him in dances,
“Saul has killed his thousands,
   and David his tens of thousands”?’
David took these words to heart and was very much afraid of King Achish of Gath. So he changed his behaviour before them; he pretended to be mad when in their presence. He scratched marks on the doors of the gate, and let his spittle run down his beard. Achish said to his servants, ‘Look, you see the man is mad; why then have you brought him to me? Do I lack madmen, that you have brought this fellow to play the madman in my presence? Shall this fellow come into my house?’

David left there and escaped to the cave of Adullam; when his brothers and all his father’s house heard of it, they went down there to him. Everyone who was in distress, and everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was discontented gathered to him; and he became captain over them. Those who were with him numbered about four hundred.

David went from there to Mizpeh of Moab. He said to the king of Moab, ‘Please let my father and mother come to you, until I know what God will do for me.’ He left them with the king of Moab, and they stayed with him all the time that David was in the stronghold. Then the prophet Gad said to David, ‘Do not remain in the stronghold; leave, and go into the land of Judah.’ So David left, and went into the forest of Hereth.

Canticle

A Song of the Covenant, or another suitable canticle, for example, number 44 (page 596), may be said

Refrain:

AllI have given you as a light to the nations,
and I have called you in righteousness. Alleluia.

1Thus says God, who created the heavens, ♦
who fashioned the earth and all that dwells in it;

2Who gives breath to the people upon it ♦
and spirit to those who walk in it,

3 ‘I am the Lord and I have called you in righteousness, ♦
I have taken you by the hand and kept you;

4 ‘I have given you as a covenant to the people, ♦
a light to the nations, to open the eyes that are blind,

5‘To bring out the captives from the dungeon, ♦
from the prison, those who sit in darkness.

6‘I am the Lord, that is my name; ♦
my glory I give to no other.’

Isaiah 42.5-8a

AllGlory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and shall be for ever. Amen.

AllI have given you as a light to the nations,
and I have called you in righteousness. Alleluia.

Scripture Reading

One or more readings appointed for the day are read.

The reading(s) may be followed by a time of silence.

Acts 2.22-36

‘You that are Israelites, listen to what I have to say: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with deeds of power, wonders, and signs that God did through him among you, as you yourselves know—this man, handed over to you according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of those outside the law. But God raised him up, having freed him from death, because it was impossible for him to be held in its power. For David says concerning him,
“I saw the Lord always before me,
   for he is at my right hand so that I will not be shaken;
therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced;
   moreover, my flesh will live in hope.
For you will not abandon my soul to Hades,
   or let your Holy One experience corruption.
You have made known to me the ways of life;
   you will make me full of gladness with your presence.”

‘Fellow Israelites, I may say to you confidently of our ancestor David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Since he was a prophet, he knew that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would put one of his descendants on his throne. Foreseeing this, David spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, saying,
“He was not abandoned to Hades,
   nor did his flesh experience corruption.”
This Jesus God raised up, and of that all of us are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you both see and hear. For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says,
“The Lord said to my Lord,
‘Sit at my right hand,
   until I make your enemies your footstool.’ ”
Therefore let the entire house of Israel know with certainty that God has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified.’

A suitable song or chant, or a responsory in this or another form, may follow

Fear not, for I have redeemed you.
I have called you by name; you are mine.
AllFear not, for I have redeemed you.
I have called you by name; you are mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you.
When you walk through fire, you shall not be burned.
AllI have called you by name; you are mine.
Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit.
AllFear not, for I have redeemed you.
I have called you by name; you are mine.

from Isaiah 43

Gospel Canticle

The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah) is normally said,
or Gloria in Excelsis (A Song of God's Glory) (page 635) may be said

Refrain

AllYou promised, O God, to save us from our enemies,
from the hands of all that hate us.

1Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel, ♦
who has come to his people and set them free.

2He has raised up for us a mighty Saviour, ♦
born of the house of his servant David.

3Through his holy prophets God promised of old ♦
to save us from our enemies,
from the hands of all that hate us,

4To show mercy to our ancestors, ♦
and to remember his holy covenant.

5This was the oath God swore to our father Abraham: ♦
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,

6Free to worship him without fear, ♦
holy and righteous in his sight
all the days of our life.

7And you, child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High, ♦
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,

8To give his people knowledge of salvation ♦
by the forgiveness of all their sins.

9In the tender compassion of our God ♦
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,

10To shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, ♦
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.

Luke 1.68-79

AllGlory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and shall be for ever. Amen.

Refrain

AllYou promised, O God, to save us from our enemies,
from the hands of all that hate us.

Prayers

Intercessions are offered
¶ for the day and its tasks
¶ for the world and its needs
¶ for the Church and her life

Prayers may include the following concerns from the cycle on pages 362–363

¶ Local government, community leaders
¶ All who provide local services
¶ Those who work with young or elderly people
¶ Schools, colleges and universities
¶ Emergency and rescue organizations

One of the forms of prayer found on pages 362–371 may be used.

These responses may be used

Lord, in your mercy
hear our prayer

(or)

Lord, hear us.
Lord, graciously hear us.

Silence may be kept.

The Collect of the day is said

Almighty God,
who sent your Holy Spirit
to be the life and light of your Church:
open our hearts to the riches of your grace,
that we may bring forth the fruit of the Spirit
in love and joy and peace;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
AllAmen.

The Lord’s Prayer is said

As our Saviour taught us, so we pray

AllOur Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours
now and for ever.
Amen.

(or)

Let us pray with confidence as our Saviour has taught us

AllOur Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come;
thy will be done;
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.

The Conclusion

The Lord bless us, and preserve us from all evil,
and keep us in eternal life.
AllAmen.

Let us bless the Lord. Alleluia, alleluia.
AllThanks be to God. Alleluia, alleluia.